A striker apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed in, for example, JP 1996199870A. A striker is formed in a substantially U-shape, and base portions of the striker are fixed at a base plate through attaching holes of the base plate. The striker is inserted into a striker passage formed at a cover plate of a door lock body so that the striker is engaged with a latch supported at the cover plate. In the striker apparatus disclosed in JP1996199870A, a cross-section of a portion of the striker, with which the latch is engaged, is formed in a substantially ellipse-shape in which a longitudinal axis thereof is extending towards the striker inserting direction. This allows the striker apparatus disclosed in JP1996199870A to achieve minimization of a width of the striker passage without deteriorating strength of the striker.
The striker apparatus disclosed in JP1996199870A achieves flattening of a cross-section of the striker. However, flattening of the cross-section of the striker does not result in sufficient improvement in a flexural rigidity of the striker. A relationship between a bending moment generated at the striker and a load applied to the base portions of the striker will be described below in accordance with a schematic diagram illustrated in FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a striker 91 is connected/fixed with/at a base plate 94 by a pair of flanges 92, 93 formed at each of base portions of the striker 91 so as to hold the base plate 94 therebetween. A bending moment M generated at the striker 91 because of a load F reaches a maximum value M-max at the base portions of the striker 91 at which the striker 91 is fixed at the base plate 94 by means of the flanges 92, 93. The maximum value M-max is variable depending on a distance L between a load application point and the base portions of the striker 91. Hence, when the maximum value M-max increases in response to an increase of the distance L, and further, when a load f applied to the flanges 92, 93 increases, shear failure may occur on the flanges 92 and 93. In addition, the attaching hole of the base plate 94 may be enlarged, and furthermore, flexural strains generated at the base portion of the striker 91 where the flanges 92 and 93 are formed may exceed a permissible level to thereby cause a deformation of the striker 91. Therefore, flattening of the cross-section of the striker is not sufficient for improving the flexural rigidity of the striker.
When a distance of load f generated between the flanges 92 and 93 on the basis of the bending moment M (maximum value M-max) is set to 1, a following relationship between the load F and the distance L is substantially satisfied:F*L∝f*1Hence, the longer the distance L becomes, or the shorter the distance 1 becomes, the larger the load f applied to the flanges 92 and 93 becomes. As a result, the flexural rigidity of the striker may be deteriorated.
A need thus exists to provide a striker apparatus which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.